


I Was Made For Loving You

by NotPatrick



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, One Shot, One True Pairing, Romantic Soulmates, ben is a bit sad, just a little story about love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotPatrick/pseuds/NotPatrick
Summary: A series of events throughout Ben Solo's life from the moment his soulmate's name appears on his wrist to the moment he finally meets her. Twenty years of longing, anger and loneliness ended in the arms of the person the universe always destined for him.*Just a short, sweet one shot about Ben Solo finally finding Rey after years of searching and the home that comes from another person.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 184





	I Was Made For Loving You

When Ben Solo is ten years old he wakes up in the middle of the night with a burning pain in his wrist and a choking feeling in his heart. His crying brings his parents to his bedroom who crawl onto his bed and stroke his hair, explaining the situation.

“Rey Kenobi.” Leia murmurs, stroking the letters scrawled across the thin skin of his wrist.

“Who is it?” Ben asks, swallowing his tears.

“Your soulmate. She must’ve been born today. Look.” Leia pushes up her pajama sleeve to show her own mark and Ben recognizes it. His father’s name written in Han’s rough handwriting, permanently tattooed on his mother’s arm.

“She’s your soulmate, just like I’m your father’s. And when your older you’ll meet her and love her.” Leia chuckles as she speaks.

When he’s older Ben realizes her laughter was meant to hide her own emotions, her joy at learning of Rey’s birth.

“What if I don’t meet her?” Ben asks as his eyes lift from his mark to meet his father’s gaze. Han doesn’t answer, his eyes shifty and avoiding Ben.

“You will.” Leia reassures him and kisses his hair.

They tuck him up and turn off his light, telling Ben to go back to sleep and saying that in the morning they can talk about this some more. Ben can’t sleep however, his mind too full.

Somewhere out there is a baby with his name already written on her little wrist and waiting for him. Until now Ben hadn’t thought about his soulmate, he had thought he didn’t have one. All of his friends had their marks already, none of them had to wait so long.

Carefully Ben climbs out of his bed and tip toes over to his desk to get his favorite pen and some paper. With his very best handwriting he writes out his name and tries to imagine it on a girl. He doesn’t know if her mark will say Ben or Benjamin so he does it twice and takes them back to bed with him to tuck under his pillow.

He falls to sleep with his wrist pressed to his heart.

***

When Ben is Solo is thirteen years old they learn about soulmates in school. He got his soul mark later than everyone else in his class but the teacher says that doesn’t mean anything at all, just that she’s younger than everyone else’s.

He’s been looking forward to the lesson on soulmates. Ever since his parents started fighting more he’s found it hard to talk to them about it and he has some questions he wants answers to. Ms. Holdo shows the class her mark and talks to them like a friend, not a teacher.

“Miss?" Armitage asks, waving his hand about in the air. Armie has had his mark the whole time Ben has known him and likes to talk about his soulmate more than anything else except maths.

“Yes, dear?”

“What if I don’t know they’re my soulmate if when I meet them?” He asks and Ben can tell this is something he worries about.

“You’ll know. When soulmates meet each other they always know. You feel drawn to them, your heart wants to know them. It’s a bit tricky to explain but it’s true. Soulmates always know each other.”

Ben tries to imagine it, seeing his Rey and feeling that draw. His mother once said it was like someone was pulling her heart, dragging her over to Han. It’s not something he worries about, not knowing who Rey is. Something inside Ben just knows that when they meet he’ll know it’s her and that they’re meant to be together.

“What if I don’t like my soulmate?” Ben’s other best friend Gwen asks, all her bracelets hiding her mark. Ever since it appeared during an art class when they were little and someone said that Kaydel was a stupid name she’s hidden it.

This is something Ben can’t imagine, no matter how hard he tries. Even though she’s only three and they’ve never met Ben loves his soulmate more than anything or anyone, all he really wants is to marry her and protect her. There are stories about people who don’t marry their soulmate or who fall in love with someone else but Ben knows this could never be him. Rey is the only one for him.

“That’s very rare Gwen. Soulmates nearly always love each other and want to be together. Sometimes they love each other like friends and don’t get married but it’s very rare for them to not like each other at all.” Ms. Holdo explains gently, knowing this is a difficult subject for Gwen, who always says she doesn’t want a soulmate, but Ben knows that she does want one deep down, she’s just scared about it.

“How long do we have to wait before we meet them?” Armie says, his hand still stuck in the air and with a whole list of questions in front of him.

“Soulmates meet all the time, at all different ages. Maybe you’ll meet them tomorrow or maybe in ten years.”

Ms Holdo gets up from her desk and turns on the TV to everyone’s delight. The videos they have to watch about these things are kind of stupid but Ben likes them anyway. She turns off the lights and Ben tries his best to listen to the things they’re saying about soulmates but he’s not really paying attention, he’s too busy running his finger over Rey’s name on his wrist and trying to imagine what she’ll look like when she’s older.

***

When Ben Solo is fifteen he starts acting out a lot. It starts off with little things. He grows his hair longer to hide his ugly ears and starts wearing all black. Ever since he got his growth spurt he’s become the tallest in his year and he wants to hide it, he hates sticking out.

As he gets older though things get worse. Ben feels angry all the time, his parents fight at night and pretend everything’s ok during the day and Armie meets his soulmate. The new boy in the year above them, Poe Dameron, joins the basketball team and drops a ball right on Armie’s foot. Ever since then they’ve been inseparable and Ben can’t stand it. He hates seeing them together, all happy and in love and going on dates to the cinema and the diner and kissing each other in the corridor.

The first time Ben gets in a fight at school it really isn’t his fault. An older boy knocks him into a locker and all his books fall onto the floor. So Ben throws him against the wall and punches him.

The second time Ben gets in a fight at school it might be a little bit his fault. One of his teammates doesn’t pass to Ben and tries to take the shot himself even though Ben’s better at that, so Ben shouts at him. The shouting match becomes a fight and they both get suspended from school for a week.

The third team Ben gets in a fight at school it’s definitely his fault. He can’t even remember what his classmate said but the next thing he knows is he’s picked the guy up and slammed him into a desk. They’re pretty evenly matched but Ben is taller and gets more hits in until the guy is bleeding and Ben’s parents are called to a meeting.

He’s kicked out of school.

“I just don’t understand Ben, what happened?” Leia asks when they get home, making them all sit around the kitchen table for a Talk.

“I got mad.” Ben says grumpily, already sick of his parents pretending like they care.

“That doesn’t mean you hit someone!” Leia exclaims.

They sit in silence for a long moment and Ben doesn’t miss the looks his parents pass between them.

“What’s going on?” He asks with a sinking feeling.

“Nothing.” Leia says brightly and far too quickly.

“Dad?” Ben turns to his father.

“Look son, we don’t want to do this.” Han begins but Ben’s already too angry to listen.

“Do what? What’s going on?” His voice rises as he speaks.

“Look, Ben. There aren’t any other schools in this area for you to go to.” Han leans forward as he speaks and is uncharacteristically serious.

“So where am I gonna go?” Ben asked, his heart sinking as the situation sinks in.

“I know you don’t particularly like Uncle Luke, but we don’t really have any other options.” Han says, keeping his voice even and diplomatic even as he looks on edge.

“You’re sending me to Luke?” Ben nearly shouts.

Uncle Luke runs a boarding school in the middle of nowhere and hates Ben. He doesn’t know what he did but ever since he was little Uncle Luke has always been mean to him.

“Ben, there just aren’t schools near by that you can go to, not now that you’ve been expelled from one.” There’s an edge to his mother’s voice that tells Ben she’s already running out of patience with him.

“Then find one far away! It doesn’t have to be Luke!” Ben’s definitely shouting now and there are tears in his eyes but he can’t help it.

“I’m sorry Ben, but this isn’t up for discussion.” Leia says, her decision clearly made.

“But I don’t want to!” He yells like a petulant child, red in the face.

“Yeah well, you should’ve thought of that before you broke another kid’s nose.” Han scoffs as he speaks and Ben snaps.

He leaps up from the table and storms up to his bedroom, slamming the door so hard behind he the whole house rattles.

Falling down face first he sobs onto his bed, too many emotions he can’t handle spilling out of him and soaking his pillow. He hates his parents and his uncle and Armie and Poe and everyone else in the whole world. Except Rey. In his heart of hearts Ben knows she would never send him away because of a few fights.

Time passes and the sun sets and Ben grows increasingly hungry but he can’t face dinner with his parents. Instead he waits until he’s sure they’ve gone to bed and sneaks down the stairs, hoping to get something from the kitchen that he can eat in his bed while feeling sorry for himself.

Passing by the living room though Ben can hear quiet voice of his parents rising and falling from behind the shut door and before he even knows what he’s doing he’s sitting down on the floor and straining to hear what they’re saying.

“Should we have told him?” Ben hears his mother’s muffled voice say from the living room.

“It’ll destroy him.” His father says and Ben leans against the wall, desperate to hear more.

“Doesn’t he deserve to know?” Leia sounds tearful and Ben can imagine her rubbing at her eyes as she speaks. “She’s his soulmate.”

At hearing Rey being mentioned Ben sits up straight, suddenly terrified. His anger at his parents or being sent away to Luke’s don’t matter anymore, they’re entirely eclipsed by fear for his Rey.

“What good would it do for him to know?” Han says, sounding almost clinical.

“Because it matters Han. Soulmates are meant to be together, no matter what. And no matter what we’ve found, she’s still his soulmate.” Leia is clearly getting worked up and Ben can’t help but lean back further, straining to hear everything.

“How can we know that she’s his soulmate if she doesn’t exist?” Han says, his voice detached and destructive.

The moment the words leave his father’s mouth Ben has to choke back a sob, the world suddenly spinning around him and threatening to make him sick. He won’t believe this. They have to be lying,

“I could be wrong. She’s only five, I’ll probably find her if I look harder.”

“Love, we’ve spent thousands looking for her. You’re a retired senator for God’s sake and you still can’t find her. There’s no Rey Kenobi on any records anywhere. She’s not out there.”

Ben can’t hear anymore and rushes back up to his bedroom silently, all thoughts of wanting a snack and avoiding his parents long forgotten. He curls up in his bed and kisses her name on his wrist, his mind racing as his parent’s words echo around his bedroom and his head. She has to be real because he felt it when she was born. Her name is forever tattooed on him and won’t ever fade, so of course she’s out there somewhere.

But he still can’t shake the fear caused by his parent’s words. He felt it when she was born but they can’t find her records. They know her name but she’s not out there anywhere. His parents are rich and powerful and have still failed to find her.

No tears escape his eyes as he lies on his bed and hugs his wrist but he feels exhausted all the same, the news of moving away and not being able to find Rey sapping every bit of energy from him.

As he falls asleep Ben makes a decision. He’ll go to Luke’s and stay there for as long as he has to and when he’s older he’ll find Rey himself. He’ll love her and look after her and he won’t let anyone say anything about her like that ever again.

***

When Ben Solo is eighteen, he burns down his Uncle’s school.

He does it because of Rey.

Ahch-To is cold and grey with permanently cloudy skies and angry tides. It’s truly the perfect place to ship and unloved son off to.

The whole he’s been staying at Luke’s he hasn’t once been home for the holidays or spoken to his parents on his birthday, choosing instead to isolate himself. He keeps himself hidden away and doesn’t talk to the other students, especially not the few who have met their soulmate.

He watches them sometimes with jealous eyes though and imagines that it’s him and Rey running across the playing field hand in hand or sneaking kisses behind the art block. He knows that they’ll never be young together like that and that he won’t kiss her until he’s much older but he still imagines it.

It’s one on evening when he’s imagining her soft lips and gentle sighs when his Uncle comes into his room without knocking.

Ben looks up from his book and scowls at Luke, hoping his Uncle can feel the animosity coming off him. Three years has not brought them together.

“Can I see it?” Luke asks, nodding vaguely towards Ben’s wrist.

Part of Ben wants to refuse, to keep Rey private, but more of him wants to get whatever this is over with and return to thinking about running his lips along her cheek and smelling her hair.

Without a word he pushes his sleeve up, the low lamplight perfectly highlighting her name. Luke draws closer and stares at it for ages with an unfathomable expression. Tension hangs in the air as Ben watches his Uncle read and reread her name until Luke eventually shakes his head and steps away from Ben.

“No good will come of it.” He says simply and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

Silently seething Ben lays his book down and reaches for his trainers, a plan that has long been growing in his mind finally being brought into action. He knew he was right to despise Luke all these years, the man is no different from his parents. They all want to dismiss Rey and the thing that matters most to Ben as though it won’t hurt him.

Hidden by the night sky Ben sneaks to the science labs and turns on all the gas taps before lighting a match and watching the whole place explode.

***

When Ben Solo is twenty one he realizes his parents were right. After three years of searching he cannot find a single trace of Rey Kenobi anywhere. There is not a single Rey registered on her date of birth nor the days after it. There is not a single Kenobi anywhere to be seen, no matter how desperately he looks.

No matter what that his heart tells him in the middle of the night he can’t do anything in the face of this information. She isn’t real and never has been.

No one can tell him how this is possible. The doctors and scientists he meets can’t explain how he has a soulmate mark but no soulmate. The only explanation they can offer him is that maybe she lives somewhere remote and that she might appear in his life when she’s older. They shrug their shoulders and say that soulmates always find their way to each other eventually and that he will just have to wait for her.

Despite knowing his parents were right all those years ago he still doesn’t reconnect with them. A deep seated bitterness has grown inside him over the years and it lives alongside his anger, two perfect, fruitless plants growing inside his heart where there were once dreams about a life with his soulmate. 

He wastes his money and drifts about without a tether, the one thing that held him in place no longer real. She isn’t anywhere and Ben no longer knows what to do with his life.

***

When Ben Solo is twenty three he meets Andrew Snoke. Snoke has ambition and a vision for the world he shares Ben with and ever since he learnt about Rey Ben begins to feel like he has a purpose. He is taught to be great .

Snoke has no soulmate. Ben envies him.

There is no way to remove a soulmate mark so Ben resorts to wearing long sleeves all year round, always trying to get his watch to lay over her name perfectly. He has sex with endless women, keeping his clothes on and refusing to think about the soulmate he’s cheating on.

Snoke always tells him soulmates are a burden, something that holds someone back and Ben grows to believe it. Once he had thought he would never be truly whole until he found Rey and held her, but now he knows that to be false. The world is full of defective people who have to tell themselves lies about love to become someone. Ben learns he can be someone without anyone else. He isn’t defective.

He isn’t happy, surrounded by a cold house and the meaningless wealth he gathers but that doesn’t matter to him. He will willingly sleep in an empty bed at night because he knows in the morning he will leave it and walk out into a world that he helps to run all alone.

Only on the very darkest, emptiness nights does he pretend there is someone else in that bed with him, lying on his chest and tracing circles on his skin with a perfect, dainty finger.

He sleeps better those nights.

***

When Ben Solo is twenty nine Andrew Snoke dies suddenly. He’s next in line to take over Snoke’s empire, having been groomed to do it from the day he started working for him but somehow he cannot quite bring himself to do it. Instead he hands the whole operation over to someone else and walks away entirely.

He’s no Snoke and he knows now he never will be. His mentor had a will Ben cannot match and no matter how many years Snoke tried to mould him it wasn’t enough. Ben is defective as all the rest and he cannot become the next leader, no matter what Snoke wrote in his will.

Instead Ben takes his money and his car and drive to his parents house for the first time in years. He has no plan, not even a real desire to see them but he feels like it’s important to see them once more.

There are no angry words exchanged between any of them when Ben knocks on their door, just loving hugs and genuine apologies. He doesn’t linger that day, there is too much that’s still too raw but when he leaves he knows he’ll be back and that knowledge keeps him secure.

Time has healed whatever was wrong with his parents and they look at each other with love once again. Ben feels himself to wonder if Snoke was wrong about soulmates being a burden. When his mother talks about how difficult it was to lose Ben like they did he realizes that they carried that loss together, helping making it lighter for the other. They didn’t hold each other back, they moved forward together.

That night he tries to look for Rey Kenobi again. He finds nothing.

***

When Ben Solo is thirty he visits his parents at their new home. They’ve been living there for over a year but the peace that has been forged between them is still so fragile he has been afraid to break it by becoming too involved in their lives.

Ahch-To is for more beautiful and far less lonely then Ben remembers it being, but he puts that down to age and wisdom.

Han and Leia have left their mansion days behind them and now live in two bedroom cottage at the end of a lane that Ben parks his car down. Their home has clearly been renovated to his mother’s sharp standards and looks smart and modern whilst still fitting into the picturesque surroundings perfectly. There’s only one other home down this street, something that’s more of a ruin than a house, with overgrown planting and empty windows.

Ben thinks little of this house and knocks on his parents door, smoothing his shirt and preparing himself mentally for what he hopes will be an easy meal and quick getaway.

“What’s that noise?” Leia asks, looking up from the cards in her hands. They had long finished lunch and his parents had talked him into staying later for a game of cards but Ben has always had a hopeless poker face and is losing by a significant margin.

The sound of a rumbling engine brings them all to the front window and Ben peers through the glass to see a pick-up truck loaded with boxes and bags parked in front of that run down house and a tiny woman with massive glasses climbing out. Ben barely has time to register the car’s arrival though when his mother appears on the street and starts chatting to the new neighbor.

Ben and Han share a look and reluctantly follow Leia out to the street.

“This is my husband Han and my son Ben.” Leia introduces them when they’re still halfway down the garden path. “Boys, this is Maz Kanata, our new neighbor.”

Ben doesn’t miss the way Maz’s eyes grow ever so slightly when he is introduced but makes no comment of it, instead shaking her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my daughter’s around here somewhere, inspecting the house.” Maz says, waving her arm vaguely behind her.

“Inspecting?” Han asks, humor in his voice.

“She’s determined to stop me moving out here. Wants me to live with her instead.” Maz explains, still keeping half an eye on Ben. Leia is about to speak up when a melodious voice calls out from inside.

“You can’t live here!” The voice says, and from inside the doorway the most beautiful woman Ben has ever seen appears.

She’s smiling wide as she walks up to her mother and Ben’s heart starts to choke him as he takes her in. Her loose white blouse is long sleeved and embroidered with flowers and her jeans have colorful paint splatters all over them. He can just make out odd socks with fruit on them peeking out from her scuffed white shoes and there are even little mushroom earrings poking through her hair.

The street feels strangely airless as he stares at her and her beautiful smile.

Despite everything he’s spent the last few years believing Ben knows who she is. Somehow, the universe has given him this perfect creature to be his soulmate and his heart is beating rapidly in his chest, trying to burst through his ribs and be with her.

Her bright hazel eyes don’t notice Ben as she turns her attention to her mother.

“Why ever not?” Maz asks, looping an arm around her daughter’s waist. Her action draws Ben’s eyes from away from his soulmates eyes to his body and Ben is startled by how little she is. She’ll need him to protect her, she’s so soft and small.

“It’s a ruin! There’s not even a window in the kitchen, just a hole in the wall!” She says and waves her arm in the same way as Maz. The sleeve of her blouse slips ever so slightly but Ben can’t make out a soulmate mark, just pale skin stretched over her fragile wrist.

“This is my daughter, Rey.” Maz says proudly, seemingly unaware of the affect her words will have.

Leia and Han immediately look over at Ben whose mouth has fallen open in silent shock. He feels entirely incapable of rational thought, reduced to simply staring at Rey. Time seems to have stopped moving as he stands there then past few years running through his mind. How could he ever have doubted she was real, how could he ever have thought there was no one for him when she was always out there, waiting to meet him until the timing was right?

“Rey, this is Han Solo, his wife Leia and son Ben.” Maz says and her voice pulls Ben back to reality.

Rey smiles at both of his parents warmly before twisting her body a bit and looking directly at him. Her eyes grow wide and her mouth twitches ever so slightly, pausing only for a moment before breaking into a dazzling smile that threatens to destroy Ben then and there. For just a moment they’re lost in their own little world, staring at each wordlessly and taking the other in.

Then his father speaks and the bubble is broken.

“Did we tell you our last name?” He says, entirely unaware of what has happened right in from of him.

“You don’t need to.” Maz says cryptically. She squeezes Rey’s waist who tears her eyes aware from Ben to share a knowing look with her mother

When Rey looks down at her mother Ben notices her freckles and his mouth waters.

“Now!” Maz suddenly says, clapping her hands briskly. “Why don’t you show me your home so I know what to do with mine?”

Leia and Han immediately follow her orders, looking almost dazed and Ben can’t help but admire this strange woman who seems to be able to command every situation. He remains rooted to the street as his parents show Maz inside.

Leaving him with Rey.

Nothing happens for a long moment, but neither of them seem to mind. It’s peaceful, to stand there in the knowledge of who the other is and do nothing but stare. When Ben begins to wonder if he really has become a statue Rey speaks directly to him for the first time.

“Ben Solo?” She says nervously, chuckling slightly.

“Last time I checked.” Ben replies and cringes. Could he not look cool in front of his soulmate? Was that too much to ask for?

Rey seems distracted, looking past his shoulder towards his parent’s house.

“They’re watching us, aren’t they?” Ben laughs

“Yeah, they are.” Rey says with another heart-stopping smile.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” He asks, nodding at his car.

He holds the door open for her as she gets in and closes it behind her and when Ben sees her sitting in his car across from him everything seems right with the world. There’s still one thing he wants to ask her though.

“Can I see it?” He says and waits with baited breath.

“Sure.” Rey replies and pushes up her sleeve. Ben Solo is written in calligraphy on her arm, just below a tattoo of a sunflower.

Ben can’t help himself, he reaches over and touches it lightly, afraid his touch might hurt her. After only a moment he pulls back, unsure of what to do.

“Can I see yours?” Rey asks tentatively, as if she’s afraid he’ll say no. Ben has only known her for all of a few moments but he knows he could never deny her anything. Anything she wants will be hers.

Wordlessly Ben rolls up his sleeve, watching in horror as Rey’s face falls and her eyes fill with tears.

“That’s not me.” She murmurs, pulling her blouse back over her mark.

“You’re not Rey Kenobi?” Ben asks as the world tips around him. She has to be his; she has his mark and his heart. She’s filling up every empty space inside him in the he knows only a soulmate ever could.

“No. I'm Rey Kanata.” Rey explains as she reaches for the door handle and tries to leave his car.

“Wait!” Ben puts his hand over hers to stop her, certain that if she leaves now the world will collapse around him.

Rey slumps down into her seat and he reaches for her hand, encasing it in both of his and rubbing gentle circles into her skin. His mind is blank as he tries to figure out what has happened, he’s never heard of someone having a soulmate who isn’t theirs. He belongs to Rey but she doesn’t belong to him.

“I’m adopted.” Rey says suddenly, her voice stronger. Ben lifts his head from their joined hands to stare into her shining eyes. “Kenobi might be my birth name.”

“You don’t know?” Ben asks. Perhaps he’s too blunt but he has to know.

Rey shook her head before answering causing a few tears to find their ways down her cheeks. “Maz adopted me when I was seven. Before then I only had the name the government gave me.”

Ben can't help but touch her damp cheek, a single finger resting by her eye.

“I thought you were going to take me somewhere.” Rey chuckles and wipes her tears off her cheeks.

He drives them to the coast, far away from the ruins of Luke’s school. That is a story he will tell her one day but not one for today. Today is for smiles and holding hands. They lean back against his car and watch the sea below them

“I tried to find you.” Ben says after a while, feeling almost like he’s admitting to something wrong.

“You did?” Rey says, sounding almost hopeful.

“Yeah. But I couldn’t find Rey Kenobi anywhere.” Ben admits.

“You should’ve looked for Rey Kanata.” She laughs as she speaks and Ben decides that her laughter is his new favorite sound. It’s quiet as they listen to the birds until Ben speaks again.

“Did you try to look for me?”

“No.” Rey admits and Ben can’t help but feel a little bit hurt. He searched the world for her.

“Why not?” He asks.

“Maz always says I don’t need to. She says soulmates always find each other, no matter what. And that they only do so when the time is right.”

 _When the time is right._ Something about that replays in Ben’s head. He likes the idea of it, that the universe kept them from each other until it was right to bring them together.

The silence stretches out between them but it feels right. They don’t need to fill it with chatter and small talk, trying to make an effort to get to know each other. That will come naturally over time as things grow between them. For now, it’s enough for Ben to be beside her, somehow knowing deep inside him that he will always get to be beside her.

“What do we do now?” Rey asks, staring out at sea as he stares at her.

“I take you out to dinner tonight.” He says and she looks up at him.

Slowly Rey reaches out and takes his hand, her fingers fitting perfectly between his and holding onto him tightly. He never wants her to let go.

“And then?”

“We go on dates. We hold hands. I meet your friends and you meet mine. We move in together and live happily ever after.” Ben raises her hand to his mouth as he speaks and kisses it gently, watching as her eyes grow wider and she leans towards him almost unconsciously.

Rey’s smile is shy as she looks at him, her eyes dropping down to his lips for a moment.

“Rey?” Ben is surprised to hear how deep his voice has gone when he speaks.

“Yes?” Rey’s voice is breathy as she speaks and he can see a blush growing on her cheeks.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks, gripping her hand more tightly.

Rey nods wordlessly and it’s all Ben needs to lean down to her and press his lips against hers chastely. He pulls his hand from hers and reaches for her waist, resting his hands there lightly until Rey sighs against his lips. As she melts against him Ben pulls her flush to him and wraps his arms all around her, determined to keep her in his arms forever. When she loops her arms around his neck and slides her fingers into his hair he almost growls and kisses her more fiercely until he doesn’t' know where he ends and she begins. They’re one being, tangled up in each other and unable to be separated.

Standing there on the cliff, kissing his soulmate, Ben Solo feels that all is right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed that little story i wrote instead of continuing any of my main fics!  
> if theres one thing i do love in this world its a soulmate au and i really wanted to have a go at one myself  
> hope u have a lovely day and that u enjoyed this :)


End file.
